


The Smallest Things

by Dustbound



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, Takes place between episodes 8 and 9, a lot of cussing, bc I am weak for dadvid/david adopting max, i also hint at some headcanons but nothing too strict, i hint at some things, like if I write in camp camp again it might be a sort of continuation, no shipping of any kind, they're all there those are just the main players
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-03
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-23 07:42:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11985309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dustbound/pseuds/Dustbound
Summary: "Sometimes the smallest things take the most room in your heart." -from Winnie the PoohMax's teddy bear is missing. Again. But after the fiasco the first time around, like hell is he going to let anyone know. Nikki and Neil try to figure out what's wrong, while the camp counselors try to fix things. Sometimes, leaning on others is okay, and ends up being the best case scenario instead of worst.------------------------------------------------------------A fic with such light angst it doesn't take long for the fluff to take over.





	The Smallest Things

**Author's Note:**

> My friend did some Camp Camp art and somehow I ended up writing to it. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> The art: https://afterbattlebagel.tumblr.com/post/164921756737/so-camp-camp-is-a-fun-show-and-i-wanted-to-draw

Max looked tired. And grumpy. These were the first observations of Nikki and Neil when they got up and started getting ready for the day. They had woken as the sun got brighter, the smell of fresh coffee lingering but the coffee pot empty, and the third cot being empty as well. Max was usually one of the last campers to wake up to grudgingly start a pot of coffee but today he was awake before anyone else, even David.

"What's your deal?" Neil tried asking as he walked past with his toothbrush in his hand. His friend seemed glad to see him, but then Max's face changed to a scowl.

"Nothing," he ground out and skulked away. Mutters of, "Fucking no, not again!" and other grumbling followed him as he left. It was probably best just to let Max work it out so Neil shrugged it off and continued about his business. Max had bags under his eyes like he hadn't slept, but if he didn't wanna talk about it, that was fine! It wasn't like he was worried or anything!

Nikki made a face at him as they washed up at the outdoor sink. "Max is actin' kinda funny."

"It's probably nothing," Neil told her, though a bit reluctant. Max had said something about 'again' so... "Maybe he's just pissed about having to hike later today. Hell, _I'm_ pissed about having to hike today!"

"I'm not!" Nikki shouted with extra cheer.

Neil grimaced but didn't say anything. That was just Nikki, after all – nature and adventures were her thing. "Let's see what kind of drivel they're calling breakfast today." The two put their toiletries back in their tent and made their way to the main cabin. Just outside David had effectively scooped up Max like a child-shaped football.

"Oh no you don't mister!" David chided lightly. "If we're going to hike today, everyone needs to get a good breakfast. No camper left behind!"

"Fuck off, David!" Max snapped. "I have other shit I need to do today!!"

David frowned at him and held up his index finger. "Language." He turned his usual cheerful smile to Neil and Nikki and set Max down between them once they were inside. "Howdy campers, you're just in time for breakfast. Why don't you three join the rest of your pals while I go wake up the late sleepers?" The auburn-headed camp counselor ducked through the double doors before Max could protest again, and Nikki was quick to pull him towards the trays where Gwen and the QM were serving oatmeal and fruit.

"Fucking David, always getting in my fucking way... Fuck!" Max was grumbling again.

Neil cocked an eyebrow as he slid down the line. "You sure are liking that F-bomb today."

"Shut up, Neil."

"Whatever, Max, just saying you're using it even more than usual today. And it's – what? Nine a.m.?" Neil got a decent looking orange from Gwen and slid towards the QM's side of the window to receive what was apparently oatmeal. Neil got the feeling the old man had tried to cook the oats the same way he made mashed potatoes, but what worked for one definitely didn't work for the other. Meanwhile Gwen, who had looked bored out of her skull until they showed up, suddenly seemed very nervous.

"H... Heeey, Max," she drawled out. Neil shot her a look. Gwen was sweating, stock still and with fruit in each hand – an apple in the right and an orange in the left.

Max made a grabby hand motion. "Shut up and give me an apple," he said without looking. She plopped an orange in his hand and it took him a second before he shouted, "Gwen, what the fuck!" Gwen glanced at the orange and then Max's face and plonked the apple in his other hand.

"There, now move it, you're holding up the line!" Gwen said in her normal crabby tone but she was still sweating bullets.

Tossing the fruit on his tray and grumbling under his breath, Max rolled his eyes and moved along to receive some 'oatmeal' on his tray. "I want both too!" Nikki said. Realizing there was no going back after that mess up, Gwen sighed and gave the child both an apple and an orange. When they all had a nutritious, questionable breakfast, the trio sat at the table furthest from the serving window.

Max mostly pushed the mush around on his plate with his spoon, shoving in a mouthful every so often with a bite of apple. "This is bullshit," he finally growled and shoved his tray away from himself.

"Max?" Nikki asked, continuing when she got a grunt in response. "Why are you so upset?"

Leave it to Nikki to lack tact but also cut right through the bullshit. Neil was almost impressed as he waited, also curious as to what the hell had Max riled up so early in the day. Max finally looked at them, really looked at them – only to frown and look away. How did they not get it? Not that long ago, they'd stood around him and laughed with everyone else. Weren't they supposed to be friends? But, no, they were just temporary. All of this was temporary, none of it mattered, nothing except for- "Leave it," Max muttered, and got up to go scuttle about the camp grounds some more.

And now Nikki was upset. "Hey, Neil? He'll tell us eventually... right?"

"...Probably," Neil said. There was a lot they didn't know about Max, a lot he didn't share. But he wasn't sure how to tell her that.

David watched Max exit the doors and glanced at him through the windows. When the last camper had been served breakfast, he went to the serving window. "Hey, QM, some campers are finishing up, could you go keep an eye outdoors?" The low mutters and fluttering of the old enigma's whiskers were the only indication David got that he'd been heard. But the old man was moving in the right direction so he tried not to worry about it. Gwen let out a big puff of air as though she had been holding her breath. David was still watching the campers still eating, and also wondering about Max. He'd looked awfully tired. "Gwen, do you know why Max is-"

"It's all my fault!" She blurted out to him, her eyes darting across his face in a panic.

"What?" David asked. "I'm sure it's just a misunderst-"

"Nope! Really, actually my fault this time!" Gwen looked almost as tired as Max. Now David was really confused, but he was ready to listen. Gwen came from behind the counter and tugged his shirt sleeve as she passed. "I need to show you something."

"Okay...?"

The pair made their way to the counselors' cabin, to Gwen's side. They passed Max along the way, the boy tugged away from peering into the trash cans by the QM with his hook in the boy's hood. It wasn't unusual to see someone preventing Max from mischief, but why was he looking in the garbage bins? Luckily, Preston was rehearsing lines from his newest script, and Ered was busy leaning against a wall, so nothing was out of the ordinary there. David and Gwen entered the cabin and David stood next to her desk while she fetched something from her bathroom.

She came back with that something behind her back, out of his line of sight. "So, first, I gotta tell you something. You remember back when you drove me to my interview?"

"Um, yes."

"Remember how I complained about Max making me run a fool's errand on the car ride over?"

"Yes?"

"I threw something at him, the thing he made me get. Do you remember what it was?"

David tried to think it over. "No. I was so gosh darn excited to wish you luck, I admit I hadn't really noticed. I do remember you yelling something about Satan at the campers and having to talk about that."

A palm covered Gwen's face. "Why is _that_ the part you remember?"

"I'm sorry, Gwen, but we have to set good examples for the campers! I already have to get onto Max about language, I shouldn't have to get onto you too."

She waved her hand, exasperated at this point. "We're getting off topic! I exposed what was probably one of Max's biggest secrets, yelled 'eat shit, Satan!' and then threw that secret at his face. Threw this at his face..." Gwen's eyes were downcast and her mouth pressed into a thin line as she brought a teddy bear out in front of her.

David put two and two together, and couldn't keep the disappointment from his face. It yanked a few strings in Gwen's heart. "Oh, Gwen, no."

"You know, I... I couldn't stop thinking about it. It was eating at me. When Max blackmailed me, he'd demanded something amazing, said he felt like he was 'missing something' and then when I brought back this dirty old bear, the way he'd lit up... I don't know. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but what if that had been Max's real goal? Not just something amazing, but specifically for me, the adult, to go get his missing bear back from the older kids at the Wood Scouts that had stolen it, because he couldn't?" Gwen finally looked up from the bears frayed ears at the listening David. "You definitely must not have realized, because our campers were pointing and laughing at him when we drove away, David. A ten-year-old kid. And I humiliated him in front of his peers, in front of his friends. And that fucking sucks."

"But you must have been trying to make good, right? That's why you have the bear again?" David asked with a small, reassuring smile. Gwen gave a crooked smile back, barely there.

"Yeah. I snooped around his tent, trying to find something I could do or use... And found this little guy hidden under the bed, still absolutely filthy. I think Max tried to clean it with toothpaste? Because there was weird chalky stuff on its face. So I took him and spent a lot of time last night getting him clean, but all the scrubbing and stuff made him fall apart more, and I didn't expect Max to notice so soon, I didn't think he slept with the thing, it was so dirty! Or that he wouldn't be able to sleep without it!! And!" She threw her head back and groaned. "I don't know how to fix him. Or give him back..." Gwen looked back at David again, making a face, and not an unfamiliar one.

David sighed but still had a smile. "I can fix Max's bear, you know I know a little sewing. But!" He held up a finger. There were conditions after all. "It is in bad shape and I'll need a while."

"You want me to lead the hike, don't you?" Gwen grimaced at him.

He beamed back. "I want you to lead the hike," he confirmed. "We'll have arts and crafts time and then lunch as planned, which always needs both our supervision. But instead of me leading the hike, that'll be up to you. Then I'll have time to fix the bear and I can give it back to Max."

Gwen took a sharp breath and held it a minute before handing the bear over. "Okay. Okay, I can do that. Probably. You still have those trail maps?"

The day passed much like normal. Arts and crafts time was always a mess, but at least Dolph was so absorbed in painting their prop (the platypus) he didn't rant about staying in the lines or cutting construction paper perfect. Max mostly laid his head on his arms and stared at what his friends did. Nikki had gotten better at drawing in anime style and Neil was marveling at the math of origami (but he could only make cranes for some reason).

Lunch was nothing special. Mashed potatoes, something green, and some kind of protein... Neil guessed. It still fared better than breakfast's tasteless 'oatmeal' so overall it was alright. Nikki inhaled it pretty enthusiastically. Max stabbed it a lot. And then it was a couple hours of free time before they would be rounded up for the hike. Max knew the game plan. Wear them out with an afternoon hike so they would sleep through the night without causing trouble. He tried to creep away to hide in the latrine, maybe miss the whole thing if he was lucky (and Gwen didn't count them) but he must have been moving slower than he thought, because Gwen easily caught him and put him with the rest.  
It wasn't long before all the campers were following Gwen up the nearest hills. A glance at her map and the surprisingly well-maintained trail signs confirmed that this trail was

'For Beginners! :)' Max was still in a foul mood, the sound of his water in his water bottle sloshing around in his hoodie pocket as he stomped up the hillside with the rest of the group. Behind him, Nikki and Neil were whispering back and forth, but he didn't give a shit. He still had a grudge that he had to join in this exercise, especially when he should be grilling Pikeman, the rat-faced bastard.

"Do you think maybe it's... that?" Nikki asked Neil with a face much like a sad puppy.

"Could you be  _vaguer_ , please?" Neil shot back with heavy sarcasm.

"You know! Last week!" Nikki flailed her arms around. "Gwen threw that bear at Max and then everybody was laughing and I dunno, everybody was laughing, so I laughed too. But maybe I shouldn't have?"

Neil winced at the memory, and the aftermath. While they had all still been laughing like assholes, Max had told them to 'grow up' or something similar, and dragged the teddy bear to 'throw it away' with his usual deadpan face. "Yeah, that was kind of a dick move. I honestly just didn't want to go against Nurf."

Shuffling uncomfortably, Nikki grasped one of her elbows. "I don't always really realize what's going on, you know? I didn't... mean to be mean? But I was. Maybe that's not what's bothering Max, but I think maybe that's why Max won't tell us."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, I hope I never say this ever again," Neil sighed. "I think we should apologize."

Of course! It was so simple! She'd been fretting over what to do but this made her brighten up considerably. "Yeah! Let's do that!" Without a moment to waste, she grabbed Neil by the hand and tugged him over to catch up with their friend. "Max! Hey Max!!"

"What?! Stop yelling, I've got a damn headache! What is it, what do you want?" Max said, clearly still irritable and even more tired than earlier with the added exercise.

Nikki gave him the full force of her most sincere smile. "I'm sorry Max!"

Max stared at her a moment before turning to Neil for answers. "Is Nik feeling okay?"

Neil made a small, frustrated motion with his hands, looking into the distance before looking at Max and putting something like a smile on his face. "What Nikki means to say is... sorrywelaughedatyou."

"What the- speak the hell up, Neil, quit mumbling. But don't yell," Max said as he nursed his headache by rolling his fingertips along his temples.

Another frustrated hand motion, more generous this time, but Neil calmed down more quickly than before. It needed to be said. "Nikki and I are sorry we laughed along with everyone else last week. Remember? Because of the-"

"DON'T- say it. Don't," Max snapped. "The magic nerd duo didn't laugh at me," he said and jerked his thumb at Nerris and Harrison. "Maybe I should hang out with them from now on." He listened with some satisfaction to Nikki's 'Aw, c'mon, Maaax' and Neil's 'They weren't even there!' He let them stew a little bit, smirking as he waited. "Anyways, it's nothing new, so whatever. Nothing here fucking matters anyway."

"Don't say that!" Nikki said. "Even after summer is over, I wanna message you guys a ton! My school friends are cool, but they just don't get me, y'know? Besides... I'm gonna miss you guys..."

Max actually laughed a bit. "You always say exactly what you feel, huh, Nik? But it still doesn't matter, I don't have a fucking computer or any shit like that."

"Seriously?!" Neil shouted, seemingly outraged at the notion. "I think I would die without something with an internet connection. Hmm... Fine! I'll give you that old computer NielSpiel 2.0 fucked up. I was rebuilding it anyway. Ha! Now you have no excuses!!"

"You losers!" Max snickered but he was grinning from ear to ear. "Fine. I guess I can make time in my busy shitty life to message you guys."

At the head of the pack, Gwen was eavesdropping and caught a glimpse of Max smiling. She finally shoved the map in her pocket to stop relying on it so much. There were plenty of trail signs. She'd fucked up twice now, but maybe things were turning out okay. Good, even. Max, always keeping his unknown home life and this time at camp so detached from each other, was going to carry one into the other. Friends were important, after all. And other than the incident, the other campers hadn't really gotten into bullying and Nurf hadn't increased his bullying.

Back at camp on his side of the counselors' cabin, David was hard at work with needle and thread. 

The teddy bear – Mr. Honeynuts, Gwen had told him – had been a real mess. The stuffing that had already been spilling out its ear and foot were fairly clean from Gwen's internet-researched washing method, but when he'd looked inside, the rest of the stuffing had been kinda... gross. David replaced the bear's stuffing with stuffing from his pillow, and counted his lucky stars that he had regular pillows instead of goose down, or memory foam like Gwen's pillows, or something. He didn't have a spare button to replace the missing eye, so he reinforced the threading with a dark color instead. He thought it was charming. He hoped Max thought so too.

There wasn't really anything he could do about the discolorations the plush toy held. Some stains were just too stubborn. But he'd matched the thread colors as best as he could and Mr. Honeynuts was nice and plump and clean, not limp and sorry looking anymore. David was too tempted to add a personal touch. He decided on something easy to remove if Max ended up hating it.

He tied a swath of yellow ribbon around the bear's neck into a little bowtie under its chin and held the toy up to admire his work. It felt good to do something nice for someone else and take care of something they cared about.

"I did it!" he said aloud. It was nice to say with no one around. "There now, Mr. Honeynuts, such a dapper bear won't have to hide from judging eyes anymore. I hope!"

He heard the groaning of well exercised children ready for R&R, and maybe some dinner, arrive in the campground proper. Sure enough, Gwen poked her head inside, hissing, "Is it ready?" before she'd gotten a chance to look. He nodded and happily held the bear up for inspection. "Holy crap, David, it looks so different!" She squinted a little and frowned. "...You didn't go buy that in town, did you?"

"Oh Gwen!" he chuckled. "Stop flattering me and please grab some snacks for the kids. I'll wait for Max in his tent. When you hand out the snacks, tell him to go take a nap until dinner. After all, he probably hasn't slept, right?"

"He almost passed out when we took a break at the peak," Gwen said. "Piece of cake." She ducked back out and called for the campers to gather in the main cabin. She was just as ready to be out of the sun and sitting down as they were. While she did that, David snuck out with Mr. Honeynuts to the mischief trio's tent. He sat on Neil's cot facing Max's, hid the bear under the pillow, and waited. It didn't take long.

"Fucking Wood Scouts can wait, so damn tired... maybe, my pillow...?" Max mumbled as he entered his tent, wondering if he could replace his bear with something long enough for a nap. Maybe roll up his hoodie? He noticed the other presence and jumped. "David! Fuck! You scared the shit out of me, why the hell are you in here?!"

"Language," David said without batting an eye, and continued on. "I recently heard about an incident that happened last week, and I wanted to say I'm sorry I didn't notice and step in when I should have. And that Gwen is sorry too."

"What – that?! Are you kidding me? God, everyone won't shut up about that today. And if she's so fucking sorry, why isn't she here?!" Max threw his hands up in the air and plopped back onto his cot, staring David down without mercy.

"Max, sometimes people aren't the best at apologies. They're awkward, and make people feel bad, and you don't know if you'll be forgiven. And harder still, sometimes people don't deserve to be forgiven but know they need to apologize anyway. Gwen reacted badly to you pushing her around, and did something she regrets. She even tried to make up for it – although she accidentally caused another problem, her heart was in the right place." He shifted to reach for the pillow.

"Buying me off with some cheap piece of shit? Typical," he heard Max scoff under his breath.

"Don't get mad," David said as he reached under the pillow.

"Oh, THAT's a good sign."

He ignored his comment and just hoped that this would go well. Carefully and caringly, he pulled out Mr. Honeynuts with an unsure, "Ta-daaah...?"

Max was practically sparkling. "Mr. Honeynuts!" he cried out and immediately lifted his arms to take the fixed-up teddy bear. He squeezed the plush toy close a moment. "You're! You're like new!!" Suddenly Max's eyes popped open and his pupils shrunk and he pointed a finger accusingly at David. "AAH! GWEN STOLE MY BEAR!!"

"To clean him. As an apology," David explained with his hands out.

"WHY DID YOU HAVE HIM?!"

"He was looking a little rough around the edges, so I fixed his stitching!" David grinned. He waited patiently while Max glared at nothing, his arms still wrapped around his bear and messing with the plush arms. He glanced at David and exited the back of tent to sit under a tree. David followed, a little worried since Max's eyes had been quite shiny. "Max...? Is Mr. Honeynuts too different now, did we mess up again? Oh no! It's the bowtie, isn't it? I knew I shouldn't have changed anything but-"

"Shut up, David," Max's voice broke and tears managed to spill over. He was quick to rub them away with the sleeves of his hoodie. David's mouth practically zipped shut. The counselor fiddled with his hands, nervous that the plan had backfired. Dammit, crying in front of people sucked! But David had just trotted along after him anyway. Well... Even if it's part of what made David frustrating, it's also what made him endearing. But only sometimes. Max hugged his bear a little closer and realized it smelled infinitely better than before, kind of like that clean laundry smell or dish soap. It even felt plusher and more satisfying to hug, a bit of pine smell apparent when the stuffing got a good squeeze. "It's fine..." There was a long pause and a word so quiet David barely caught it, but he did. "Thanks."

That's all it took for David to be all smiles again. "Can I tell Gwen what you said?"

Max groaned. "Uuuugh... fine, I guess. Only 'cause she washed him and all." With a yawn so wide it hurt his cheeks, Max dragged himself to his feet and brushed off his pants. He stumbled off away from the trees and the back of the tent.

"Now where are you going?" David asked.

"First, I'm gonna wash my face. Hiking sucks ass, David! Then, I'm gonna take that fucking NAP!!"

"Language!" David tried to call after him to chastise him but he was chuckling too gosh darn much. "I'll wake you up when dinner's ready." Max gave him a thumbs-up as he headed for the outside sink, Mr. Honeynuts tucked in one arm and not giving a shit who saw him along the way.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope I didn't pick on any of the characters too much because I love all of them. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading it!


End file.
